Behind The Tainted Mind
by The Wayward Dreamer
Summary: No Wendigos. What if there was something else going on atop Blackwood Mountain, only it's not what anyone expects? The monsters in this are all too human and they will stop at nothing to get what they want. M for mature themes.
1. Warning

**This is a one-shot that I thought of in the middle of the night, and I just had to write it. It's an Until Dawn fanfiction, and it is dark. It is heavily AU, featuring no wendigos. Josh, is also not afflicted with schizophrenia in this fic, which I know will be problematic. In this, Josh's pathology and mental illness falls more under the Erotomania subtype of Delusional Disorder rather than schizophrenia, a distinction I make because I don't want anyone to read this fic and think that any person who has delusions, which is common with schizophrenia, will be like Josh in this fic. Not even every case of erotomanic delusional disorder will be like Josh, this all came from the dark recesses of my mind. I am not a psychologist, or a psychiatrist (though I am an undergraduate psychology student) and as such have no real expertise in the matters of mental illness and diseases in that I can accurately portray a specific mental disorder, though I have done my research and tried my best to not use stereotypes as much as I can. The rest is my own ideas and based on the types of things you would see in Criminal Minds or other shows like that. Not everyone with mental illness is violent, or aggressive. In fact, people with mental illness are statistically more likely to be the victims of violent crimes rather than the perpetrators.**

**In saying that, I actually kind of feel guilty and sleazy for doing this to Josh, my favorite character in this game, especially when he gets such a bum rap all throughout the game. He's belittled and stereotyped and is given no real shot at redemption after everything. His actions in the game are questionable, but in this fic, I'm pushing him right into Dahmer or Gacy-levels of ick. He still deserved better.**

**Here is my trigger warning:**

**-Incest**

**-Off-screen, implied rape**

**-Kidnapping**

**-Non-graphic yet still described murder**

**-Obsession and obsessive behaviour to the point of possession/kidnapping**

**-Unhealthy portrayals of relationships**

**-Manipulative behaviour**

**If there are any other warnings I should include, please let me know**

**Pairings:**

**-One-sided Josh/Hannah**

**-Hannah/Mike**

**-Hannah/Sam**

**Rating: M**

**Genre: Horror, I can't even think of any other category it could fit into it's so horrific**

**I don't own Until Dawn.**


	2. The Washingtons

It was all going to plan.

They were all up at the cabin for the weekend. Them and all their friends. But he had bigger plans for that weekend. He had set it up so perfectly.

He knew – he knew – just how to set it up. Had manipulated them, gotten Emily pissed beyond doubt, gotten Jess to jump in to help as the mastermind. Had gotten Mike to agree.

Mike. Michael Monroe. The very name set his teeth on edge. He just got in the way. The _looks_ she gave him, just to mess with him – it made him crazy. But no matter. Because tonight was happening, and they were doing this for them. _He_ was doing this, for them.

The 'prank' laid out exactly how it was supposed to. He'd figured out how much Jeramiah Cragg was needed to pass as gone, had gotten Chris drunk with him. He knew the well-meaning boy would try to stop this, and he couldn't have that happening.

Hannah had found the note. She was acting so happy, so excited, when he knew it was all pretend. She knew how her acting would affect him, how it would irk him. She knew him that well. She _loved_ him that much.

Beautiful, angelic Hannah. She had been made, destined, just for him. And they were as happy as they could be, given the circumstances.

Which was why tonight was happening.

It was all going to plan.

He heard it all happen. Her cries, her feet pounding down the stairs and out the door into the midst of the storm. Just as planned.

But then. Then Beth had to just go and fucking ruin it. She ran after her sister. She always just got in the fucking way, it made him see red he was so furious. He gnashed his teeth and almost punched a fucking hole in the wall, but he couldn't waste time. Precious, precious time.

He had to move quickly. He slipped out the back of the lodge, pulling a large bandana and goggles onto his face. He disappeared into the snow, heading as fast as his feet could carry him to where he knew she would be.

He caught up with her quickly.

But Beth was still there. Fucking Beth, always in the way, always unwanted. She hadn't supposed to be there, it was supposed to be just him, and Hannah. No Beth. No Beth, no Beth, no Beth. She just got in the way. That fucking bitch. She wasn't even supposed to have been born. It was supposed to be just him, and Hannah.

Him and Hannah.

No Beth.

So, he chased them. Scared them, backed them up to a cliff and –

His heart stopped when she tumbled over. Hannah. His beautiful, loving, teasing Hannah. He peered over the ledge and found Hannah clinging to Beth, who's grip was wrapped around a gnarled root.

He threw down a rope for her to climb up. He nearly snarled when _Beth_ grabbed hold too. He waited until they were both situated at the top of the cliff, before reaching out a hand and _shoving_.

Beth toppled over the edge, not having the time or sense of mind to try to hold on. Both girls screamed, Hannah looked so grieved. But he knew she was happy, thrilled. Beth annoyed her just as much as she did him, always getting in the way and interrupting them. Good riddance.

He turned to his beloved, who had tear tracks down her frozen cheeks. She was just as overjoyed at this as he was, he celebrated. There would be no stopping their love.

She backed away from him, cowering. "No, no, please!" she cried weakly. "Please, no!" she screamed. She was such a tease. He approached her, only to have her back away again. This, right now, was not the time. Couldn't she see that? He had to do this, for them. So that they could be together.

Her hesitance enraged him, and he found himself cocking his fist back and hitting her in the face. She feinted into his arms, and he lifted her over his shoulder.

Her glasses fell from her face as he did so, and him picked them up gently and tucked them into his pocket.

Finally.

He started the long trek to where he'd set up their home, a cozy little cabin miles and miles away from the nearest civilization.

Finally, their life begins.

_One Year Later_

The disappearance of Hannah and Beth Washington had shaken the town. It had shaken the country, even. Their parents hadn't wanted to close the case, and their brother Josh was beside himself with worry, but after a few months it had been deemed most logical that the girls had surrendered to the elements, their bodies somewhere only the mountain knew.

Sam, Hannah's best friend, blamed herself. If she hadn't stopped that prank, if she had gone after the girls, maybe things could have ended differently.

The rest of their friend group dispersed after that, losing touch with each other. Josh had taken up secluding himself on the very mountain that had taken his sisters, having barely any contact with the outside world.

So, when the invite came, to spend another weekend getaway at the Washington lodge, Sam had been hesitant. To be once again in a place so saturated with the memories and essence of the girl she had loved, who had started loving her back, would be almost too much to bare.

But she felt she owed Hannah, and Beth, and Josh, that much. So, she accepted, and found her way back to the one place she had never wished to return.

Josh was there, as expected. His nearly year-long seclusion had changed him. He seemed darker, more introverted. More drawn into his thoughts, his grief.

Some of the gang didn't return, like Matt, or Emily, or Jess. Mike returned, so did Chris and Ashley. It would be just the five of them that weekend.

The return to the mountain quickly got off to a bad start. Sam had no hot water, which she found odd since she had figured Josh had been living here for a year. But she hadn't questioned it. Not like she should have.

Then the screaming started. She had rushed from the bathroom and out into the cold, not bothering to get dressed, only hugging a towel to herself. She had found her way to a shed near the main building, and arrived just in time to see Mike get sawed in half.

Bile rose in her throat, but she held it down as she gained from a babbling Ashley what had happened. There was a psychopath on the mountain, he had kidnapped Mike and Chris, and had made her choose.

Her infatuation with Chris was hardly secret, so her choice had been easy. Together, the two girls got Chris out of there, and they went to go find Josh so they could call the authorities.

Their nightmare had just gotten started. They couldn't find Josh. They found a gun in the cabin some ways up from the main lodge, and had found some flares as well. Anything that could be of use, they took. Chris even managed to find a radio phone, no signal needed.

Peering out a window, Sam managed to catch a glimpse of the outline of a person heading away from the lodge. Knowing it could only be Josh, she gathered the other two and they head out.

They quickly got turned around in the snow, footprints barely visible enough to follow. They came to a fork in the road and split up, Sam taking the shotgun and heading to the right while Chris and Ash went left.

There was a cabin. That was odd. There was a little cabin hidden amongst the brush, camouflaged into the trees. She approached cautiously, trying the door. It was locked. She pushed on it a bit harder and was surprised when it gave.

She was shocked at what she found.

A gaunt looking, yet still very pregnant, Hannah Washington. Chained to a cot in the corner, curled up and dirty. Sam gasped, and Hannah looked up.

"Sam?" she asked, voice tinny and weak. "Sam, is that you? No, no, you can't be real," Hannah mumbled to herself.

"Hannah!" she cried, and flung herself at her best friend, her ex-lover, the very love of her life. Recognition flared in Hannah's eye.

"No, no, no, Sam? You can't be here. He's coming back, you can't be here," Hannah panicked. Sam tried to soothe her, but nothing was working. She tried to get off the cot, but was too weak.

"Who's coming back? Hannah?" Sam asked.

"J-Josh. He kidnapped me. He killed Beth! Sam, you have to get out of here before he-"

The door behind her swung closed with a solid thunk. Hannah cowered in a ball, tears falling down her hollow cheeks.

Sam whirled around, only to be met with the butt of a gun hitting her temple.

…

…

…

She came to gradually, then all at once. A loud, angry voice was screaming. She tried to move but found she couldn't. She felt blood trickling down the side of her face.

She couldn't have been out long. The dim lighting in the cabin burned her eyes when she opened them.

"Why her? You love, _me_! You're supposed to love, _me_!" she heard amongst the yelling, sobs intermingling with the shouts.

"I do, I do only love you, Josh! She means nothing to me!" That was Hannah.

"Then why do you shout out for her at night, eh? WHY, Hannah!"

More sobbing.

When her gaze finally focused, she found herself bound to a chair, a knife held to her throat. Hannah was still on the dirty cot, crying horribly. Sam's heart ached.

The knife twitched against her throat, and she knew Josh had to be the one holding it. In her peripheral vision, she saw a gun, swinging around madly but always pointed directly at Hannah.

All too easily, the events began to click in her mind. Josh had always been quiet, introverted, though he always tried to downplay it by acting the suave macho man. He'd always loved his sisters, though she'd never once gotten the inkling that he'd loved one of them maybe too much. Her stomach lurched.

"I thought you'd gotten over your silly crush on Mike, you knew how much that hurt me, Hannah! But then you kept – asking – about – him! I did what I had to! And now – now you'll realize that _I_ was the only one you wanted all along! That I'm the only one who can love you, provide for you, in the way you need! Not her!" Josh sounded like he was crying too.

"Please," Hannah begged. "Please, please, Josh, just let her go. Let them all go, I'll – I'll never defy you again, I only love you – only you!" Hannah plead. Her eyes were dull behind her black frames, and Sam couldn't bare it. Her skin was so pale, so sickly, it was stretched over her bones in such a grotesque way she almost didn't look human.

Except for the round bump protruding from her abdomen. Sam's eyes met Hannah's wild ones, both girls scared out of their minds but Hannah being long used to it by now.

_They were never gonna get out of here alive_. The thought came unbidden to Sam's brain, causing tears to push their way out of her eyes. Josh made some form of noise, the sharp blade shaking against her neck, and Hannah cooed, as much as she could.

"No! No, don't look at her. Look at me, Josh. I love you. I love you, only you. It's always been you," Hannah soothed.

The knife shook. In the moment of distraction that Hannah had provided, the door was kicked open. Josh's grip slackened on the knife as Chris tackled Josh. Ash rushed in and lit a flare, holding the burning ends near Sam's bound wrists – burning the plastic ties used to bind her. It was bright, and hurt like hell, but she broke free.

Before either could move towards Hannah, Chris gave out a sharp cry. Josh stumbled to his feet. The meat cleaver was stuck out of Chris's chest, blood pooling around the blond.

"Sorry, Cochise," Josh sneered, yanking out the knife. "Can't have you fucking this one up for me."

Ashley let out a sob. In the distraction, Sam moved to try to free Hannah from her chains.

"Oh Ash. Ash, Ash, Ash," Josh cooed, a crazed glint in his brown eyes. "If only you'd told him how you felt. Then he could've taken you to the bone zone before all this had to happen, he would have **treated you right**! Or, he would have, if he hadn't been so much of a **PUSSY**!" he screamed at his former best friend's corpse, before lunging at her with the bloody knife. Ash was frozen, staring at Chris's dead body. Josh laughed maniacally, catching her in the arm and leaving a long, deep gash. Ash screamed.

"I even tried to set up everything for you, but you're both too stupid!" He lunged again, chasing Ashley as she tried to escape him.

Sam worked as hard as she could, trying to break the chains, but she wasn't strong enough. There had to be a key, somewhere. Hannah, through her sobs, was trying to say something Sam couldn't hear through all the commotion and blood pounding in her ears.

Ash gave one last, brutal scream before going silent. A thick arm wrapped around Sam's waist and threw her away from Hannah. She landed hard on the floor, sticky with blood, and looked up at him, terrified.

"You," he growled. "You just keep ruining things, don't you Sam? Pretty little Samantha. If only you hadn't been so nosey," he screamed, swinging the cleaver at her wildly. She backed away, scuttling on her hands. She bumped into a wall, trapped. He advanced on her, bloodlust in his eyes. Her hands scrabbled wildly, finally finding purchase on something cold and small.

He'd had a gun, earlier.

Grabbing it desperately, she hoped it worked, and pulled the trigger, her eyes fixed on his deranged ones.

BANG! BANG!

Josh collapsed, dead. Two bullet holes in his forehead.

She nearly wept tears of relief. She dragged herself up to a standing position. Her eyes met Hannah's who looked elated, if not confused.

"It's over?" she whispered, sounding loud in the sudden quietness of the cabin. Sam nodded.

It had all happened so quickly, and it was over.

She found the key to Hannah's chains in one of Josh's coat pockets, and released the brunette. They hugged, gently, due to Hannah's frail state, as Hannah began crying all over again.

Sam found the radio phone on Chris's person, and used it to call the rangers. Shakily, she explained what had happened, and the rangers said they would send a chopper.

Outside, Sam supported Hannah while she shot a flare into the air for the rangers to find them.

"Sam," Hannah whispered. "Sam, you saved me," she said, and left it at that. Sam couldn't even figure out what was going on inside her own head, let alone Hannah's.

Hannah leaned up, and pressed her chapped, dry and cracked lips to Sam's. It had been over a year since they kissed, and despite the circumstances, Sam melted into it. She held Hannah as tightly as she dared, and they stayed that way until the rangers arrived.

Together, they finally got off that blasted mountain.

Together. Finally.


End file.
